Suspenders.



no. 665,148. -Patented 1an. l, mol.

T. & r. TAYLOR.

i susPEnuEns.

(Applicp'tion led July 19, 1900.)

(No Model.)

'g n STATES THOMAS TAYLOR AND FRANK TAYLOR, OF HUDSON, MASSACHUSETTS.

SUSPENDERS.

SPECIFICATION forming' part Of Letters Patent NO. 665,148, dated January 1, 1901.

Application iiled July 19, 1900. Serial No. 24'140. No model.)

To a/ZZ whom t may concern:

Be it known that we, THOMAS TAYLOR and FRANK TAYLOR, citizens of the United States, and residents of Hudson, county of Middlesex, State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Suspenders, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like characters on the drawings representing like parts.

Ourinvention relates to Suspenders; and it consists in the novel features hereinafter described, and pointed out in the claims.

In ordinary Suspenders where the shoulderstraps are crossed and connected together at the back the structure is more or less rigid and unyielding and will not give readily or adapt itself to the movements of the'body of the wearer. It' one shoulder, for instance, is raised, the entire strain is taken by one shoulder-strap and the back-piece, while the other shoulder-strap is loose. With such construction the life of Suspenders is comparatively short.

It is one object of our invention to provide such a connection between the shoulder-straps and the back-piece that the Suspenders as a -whole will be iiexible and will automatically adapt themselves to the body of the wearer in its various movements and yet at all times evenly carry the strain to which they are subjected.

In the drawings, Figure 1 shows a pair of Y Suspenders with our improvements applied thereto. Fig. 2 shows a modied form of backpiece. Fig.'3 is a detail showing the clasp used in uniting the connecting member to the shoulder-straps. Fig. 4 is a section on the line so Fig. l; and Fig.5 is a side View of the back-piece.

The shoulder-straps A, the front ends of tabs B, and the clasps or loops C are or may be all as usual in Suspenders.

Our invention is directed particularly to the back-piece and its attachments.

The back-piece is designated by numeral 2, and in this embodiment of our invention it comprises a single piece of webbing, preferably elastic webbing, bent back upon itself and having the ends united by any suitable buckle or clasp 18, as shown in Fig. 5. The upper end of the back-piece 2 carries the loop l1, of any suitable construction, it only'being necessary that the said loop should have approximately at its ends two tube-loop members 9, through which the connecting member 3 passes. The said connecting member 3 is made in the form of a double connecting member, it having the two parts a and b, and these parts,are preferably arranged so that the said connecting member 3 as a whole is in the form 'of an S-Shaped or double crossed loop, as shown in Figs. l and 2 of the drawings. This connecting member may be made of any suitable material, but preferably we use a cord, this being chosen because itgives to the Suspenders when made freer action. The portion @tot the connecting member extends from one shoulder-strap through the left-hand tube-loop 9 and then connects to the other shoulder-strap, while the portion b extends from the 'first-named shoulder-strap thr'ough the right-hand tube-loop 9 and then fastens to the other shoulder-strap. The portions a and b of the connecting member are secured to the shoulder-straps in any suitable way, but preferably by means of the clasp shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings. prises the two parallel side portions 20, said side portions being united at one edge by the half-round portion 23 and having at. the opposite edge inwardly-bent teeth 21, which are adapted to engage the body of the-shoulderstraps. One of the said portions 20 has at its ends ears or extensions 26, which are adapted tobe bent around the end of the other side portion 20, as shown in Fig. 3, therebytirmly holding the teeth 2l in the body of the shoulder-straps. The portions a, and b of the connecting member are retained in the half-round portion 23 of the clasp, and in order to securely hold them therein we punch a portion of the metal inwardly, as shown at 25 in Figs. 3 and 4, which operates to securely unite the connecting member to the clasps 6.

With the construction above described it will be observed that each. member of the 8- shaped connecting member has a fixed connection with one shoulder-strap and a sliding connection with the back-piece'2, the result of such construction being'that if one shoulder is raised the portions a and b of the connecting member will be drawn through the tube-loops 9, thereby taking up the slack in This clasp com- IOO ` made of any suitable cord and have much the same connection with the back-piece 2 as that provided for the connecting member 3, this connection being shown as the loop 12, of any suitable material, carrying the two tube-loops 14. The rear ends or tabs 13 are preferably in the form of a double crossed loop also, one member of the double loop passing through and having a sliding connection with one tubeloop 14 on the loop 12 and' the other member of the double loop having a similar connection with the other tube-loop 14. Suitable clps 20 inclose the two parts of each single loop near its lower end, thus forming the buttonholes 15. This construction of rear tabs aids materially in giving flexibility to the Suspenders as a whole and has this further advantage that the strain is equally borne by the four supporting mem bers d, e, f, and g whether the buttonhole ends are near together or far apart.

The object in making the back-piece 2 in the form shown in Fig. 1 is to provide means for readily removing one back-piece and iuserting another and to provide means for adjusting its length. This latter feature is of considerable advantage, for by adjusting the length of the back-piece the Suspenders can be correspondingly lengthened or shortened, so as to properly position the connecting member 3 on the body of the wearer, thus adapting the same Suspenders to a very tall or short man. These back pieces, as stated above, are preferably made of elastic webbing, thus providing the Suspenders with an elastic portion at the point where the strain is greatest as the wearer bends forward.

In the modiiication shown in Fig. 2 the back-piece 11 is made in the form of a loop, preferably of metal, and carries on its upper portion two tube-loops 9, as in the modifica# tion shown in Fig. l, while on its lower side it carries the single tube-loop 27, through which the tab 18 is passed.

It will be obvious that many changes may be made in the construction of the parts without departing from the spirit of our invention.

Having described our invention, what we claim as new, and desire to secure by ALetters Patent, is-

1. In Suspenders, shoulder-straps, a backpiece made of a single piece of webbing having its ends bent back upon itself and detachably connected together, a connecting member between the shoulder-straps and baclcpiece, said connecting member being in the form of a double crossed loop, means for rigidly connecting each member of the double loop to a shoulder-strap, means for slidingly connecting each member of said loop to the back-piece, the points of connection with the back-piece being in horizontal alinement, and connections for attaching the back-piece to the trousers, said connections comprising a cord bent to form a double loop, each member of which carries a buttonhole and has sliding connection with the back-piece.

2. In Suspenders, shoulder-straps, a backpiece made of a single piece of webbing having its ends bent back upon itself and detachably connected together, a connecting member between the shoulderstraps and back-piece, said connecting member being in the form of a double crossed loop, means for rigidly connecting each member of the double loop to a shoulder-strap, means for slid ingly connecting each member of said loop to the back-piece, the points 'of connection with the back-piece being in horizontal alinement, and connections for attaching the back-piece to the trousers.

In testimony whereof we have signed our names to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

THOMAS TAYLOR. FRANK TAYLOR.

Witnesses:

JOHN C. EDWARDS, LOUIS C. SMITH. 

